Retail selling of gasoline and other vehicle fuels is a major industry throughout the world. By one recent estimate, there are on the order of 200,000 retail fuel service stations in the United States alone.
Such stations are referred to as either "full service" stations or "self service" stations, depending on whether a station employee or the customer himself is responsible for manipulating the pump, fuel hose, and valve structure into position for fueling the vehicle. In either case, however, substantial human activity is required by a person outside the vehicle to accomplish the fueling of the vehicle fuel tank.
In view of the extremely high volume of retail fuel sales, the high costs of providing full service, and the inconvenience for a customer of all the manipulative steps necessary for vehicle fueling, a need exists for improved fueling station methods and apparatus. In particular, a need exists for practical automatic fueling apparatus and methods.
A number of attempts have been made in the prior art to improve retail fueling procedures. Some examples include the disclosures of the following United States Pat. Nos.:
3,095,020 (Darwin) PA1 3,364,940 (Ginsburgh et al.) PA1 3,410,320 (Ginsburgh et al.) PA1 3,502,117 (Nebelsiek et al.) PA1 3,527,268 (Ginsburgh) PA1 3,530,906 (Ginsburgh et al.) PA1 3,536,109 (Ginsburgh et al.) PA1 3,642,036 (Ginsburgh et al.)
These patents describe various methods and types of apparatus for facilitating fueling, and for automatic fueling using overhead, on-ground or below-ground equipment. However, the automatic fueling systems and methods disclosed in the prior art have substantial inherent practical problems.
A need has existed for an improved practical approach to automatic engagement of a filling nozzle with fuel tank intake devices on vehicles. In particular, there is a need for an improved tank-mounted fuel-intake device which can readily be engaged automatically by a filling nozzle for filling through the bottom of a vehicle tank.